Berau Regency Government Launches Weather Modification Operation to Prevent Forest Fires from Spreading
The Berau Regency Government in East Kalimantan has officially commenced a Weather Modification Operation as a strategic measure to induce artificial rain. The effort aims to prevent and extinguish forest and land fires that are increasingly spreading across the region.
Berau Regent Sri Juniarsih Mas expressed full support for the operation. Her administration continues to strengthen coordination with the National Disaster Management Agency and relevant agencies to ensure the operation runs effectively.
“This operation is one of the efforts to prevent forest and land fires, particularly in facing hot weather and drought conditions that increase the risk of fire. Meanwhile, ground mitigation efforts such as education and direct handling continue,” said Sri Juniarsih in Tanjung Redeb on Tuesday.
The operation uses a Smart Cakrawala Aviation Cessna 208 Caravan aircraft with registration number PK-SNP. The inaugural flight was conducted on Monday evening via Kalimarau Airport, Teluk Bayur. The aircraft took off at 8.46 pm local time for 99 minutes to disperse salt along a local route in the Berau area before landing at 10.25 pm local time.
Head of the Berau Regency Regional Disaster Management Agency, Masyhadi Muhdi, explained that the weather modification operation is scheduled to run for five days, from Monday to Friday. The target is two salt-seeding flights per day, or a total of ten flights during the operation period.
The seeding material used is one tonne of pure salt packed in 50 sacks. The team consists of a pilot, co-pilot, two flight scientists, and two salt-dispersing officers.
Masyhadi stressed that the success of the operation depends heavily on natural conditions. Salt seeding must take into account the presence of mature cumulonimbus clouds saturated with water vapour so that the reaction producing rain can occur more quickly.
“The process from seeding to rainfall takes between two minutes and two hours. We must carefully calculate air humidity for water absorption as well as wind direction and speed so that water droplets fall precisely in the target area,” Masyhadi explained.
As of 24 August 2026, 169 forest and land fire incidents have been recorded in Berau Regency. The total area of forest and plantation land burned is estimated at 386 hectares.
The weather modification measure is expected to suppress the emergence of new hotspots amid the extreme drought conditions affecting East Kalimantan.